The Capitol's Treachery The 4th Quarter Quell
by ccoltonn
Summary: After Zove, Colton, and Lexi escape the 99th Hunger Games, they have to run and hide from the Capitol. While they are gone, the 4th Quarter Quell takes place. What is the catch this time?
1. Sneak Peek!

_Hey everyone! It's me, Colton. I hoped you all enjoyed me first story, The99thHungerGames and now I'm writing a sequel to it. If you've read the first one, you will know that the second one will most likely be about Zove, Colton, and Lexi running from the Games and the Capitol. Stay tuned for more information and I hope you like it!_

**Exclusive Sneak Peek:**

**Zove's POV** I Ran through the forest the wind under my feet. I knew I could never bring the people I had killed back. It pained me, each face popping up in my mind first a picture of them at the interviews and then their horrible faces when they died. Or should I say when I murdered them. Every single one of those poor tributes leaves a mark but then as my mind reaches those I hadn't killed but might as well have it hurts even more. I have grieved over the loss of my ally but have excepted the fate, but I cant shake the face in my head at the moment. The girl with the brilliant green eyes and light foot turning towards me with a fierce look on her face. Her eyes meet mine and we were entranced. I should have seen that arrow pushed her out of the way, but I didn't. Instead I watched at that cursed arrow went strait through her head. My eyes were the last things she saw, and I knew that the moment I died those eyes would be the last thing I saw as well. Then it hits me. There was someone after her. The boy with the midnight hair. I knew right then that he hadn't been coming to kill me. He was trying to reach her. To hold her one last time. That stupid boy loved the girl with the eyes. And I killed him for that, when I should have left him alive because we both had lost her. What was I thinking I didn't know this girl. I stared at her for a couple of minutes why should i even put my self in the same category as the boy with hair. As I slow down looking for Colton and Lexi I catch a pair of eyes coming from the shadows. I raise my spear ready to kill. When she steps out and softly says, "Do u really want to kill me Zove? I mean I thought we might have a shot…" My breath catches it was the girl with the eyes, Delia. She smiled gently. How could this be? Delia was dead. I saw the arrow kill her. This must be the capitals doing in attempt to bring us down. I will not give in.

"If your really Delia then how are you alive?" I ask.

She looks at me sadly, "It was my plan," she whispers "it was supposed to ensure out safety not get us killed."

I look at her apprehensively, "Go on."

She looks up tears in her eyes, "I told Dareon that we should fake my death in order to ensure our safety. If we could create a bow that could make it look like i was dead but wasn't then it would be perfect. Then, Dareon was supposed to come to my rescue as he would if i was really dead while Aileen snuck up on the people we were distracting. But, I accidentally ran into you and then It was down hill from there because I waited too long, everyone was already in pure chaos and when the arrow hit, I had to go along with it the best I could. But, then you killed my Dareon in your rage," she looked away from me tears rolling down her face. "And then you killed my friend Aileen. I know you didn't mean to but in your anger you did. It is something that can never be re-done. It is my fault they are dead. I am not going to let you die too. You need to listen to me. They know I'm alive. They expect you to come back for me when you find out. Don't. Go on and leave. Now. Its your only chance. Oh, and don't forget to cut out your guys' trackers. I already did. I shut down the cameras earlier with one of Dareon's other inventions. Go." the last couple of sentences were rushed as she pushed me on my way.

"Stop! Wait! I'm not going to leave you!" she looks at me, annoyed.

"You have to!"

I look at her urgent, "Why! A fourth person will only make us stronger." She looks up at me and I try to grab her hand, but can't.

She looks down and then up at my confused face and whispers, "I can't go with you Zove. The plan didn't work. That arrow wasn't my Dareon's. I'm dead, Zove, and you need to go." I looked up panicked.

"What are you talking about! But you said-"

She looks at me eyes fierce, "I know what I said. I didn't want to have to tell you. I knew you wouldn't let me go. Leave! Please! Go!" Her fierce eyes now looked anxious. "Not with out you…" I whisper.

She comes up and touches my face, " I will see you again, but only then can I go with you."

I close my eyes and whisper, "Promise?"

And a faint voice whispers back, "I promise." and the faint touch of the girl with the eyes has vanished. I start running back to Colton and Lexi who seemed to notice how long I was gone, I must not have been gone long but it only felt that I was. Lexi looks up at me as they pack up our stuff.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she jokes trying to lighten the mood.

"I have," I whisper. And as we keep walking, I swear when I look behind me I see two figures walking the opposite direction: a young man with midnight black hair holding a young teenage girl with auburn hair's hand and when she turns around, I swear I see a secret in her eyes. Then I realized as they vanished, the secret must have been me.


	2. The End of the Games Beginning of Horror

**Chapter One:**

**The End of the Games, The Beginning of Horror**

I didn't know what Lexi was doing. All I knew then was pain, and I wanted it to be over. When would it stop? The muttation gnawed at my flesh, tearing it off piece by piece. Come on, Berrie, tell us it's over! Tell us it's over and we can all survive! But the booming voice from the sky never came. I was about to give up. To stop fighting and give myself to the muttations when the pain stopped. I managed to get my eyes open wide enough to see them charging at Lexi. I started to sit up when it happened: the whole arena, filled with blood, guts, and dust. As I choked, Zove pulled me to my feet and took me somewhere. I couldn't see, but I knew the Games were over…for now.

We were out of the arena, I don't know how but we were. The force field must've exploded. That's strange though, because the Gamemakers have always been more careful about their force fields since the third Quarter Quell. After running for who knows how long, we stopped for a short break next to a small forest. Zove went over by a tree and it looked like he was having a very heated conversation…with himself. He came back over, still seeming angry, and we agreed to set up camp near the heart of the forest. It was bigger than I thought, but it should have plenty of food and water.

We could still see the arena, which was good for two reasons. One, they would never suspect us being stupid enough to stay near the arena. And two, we could still see the screen which meant we could get all Capitol updates.

Night was falling over the forest, flashing shadows here and there. "Okay, here's what we do," Zove started. "We'll take shifts sleeping, and tomorrow we will go hunting. There should be plenty of food in this place."

We split up, not leaving a thirty yard radius of camp, to search for firewood and anything useful for camp. I picked up two fairly sized branches. These would be good for burning. What would we sleep on? Maybe we could find some soft leaves or something? I didn't know but what I did know was a stabbing pain in my foot. I yelled out in pain and Lexi and Zove charged to where I was at. "What happened?" Zove asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I said. "I probably just stepped on a thorn or something."

They helped me with my branches and leaves, they had already dropped their stuff off at camp. When we got there, they had done much more work than I had. How long was I gone? There was a small hut on top of two forked branches, for, I'm guessing, a hideout incase somebody found us. But really, how would they find us? There was a net tied to the branch sitting under the hideout with nothing in it. "What's that?" I asked.

"I taught Lexi how to weave a net and that's what we will put our food in. It's out of reach for animals and humans, unless we climb," Zove replied.

There were three small pallets made of leaves, small twigs, and some other thing I couldn't identify. It looked good enough for me so I fell onto it, tiredly. Zove started talking but I didn't hear him because I was in a deep sleep already. I was being chased. Chased by people I knew. There was Grandma, Lexi, Zove, Jason, Garrett, Rachel… I woke with a start and sweat pouring down my face. I'm guessing Zove was keeping guard because he was sitting up, eyes drifting. "You need sleep," I told him. "Go to bed, I'll keep lookout."

He thanked me and fell asleep. And before I knew it, it was dawn. It looked bright enough to go hunting so I woke them. Zove made some sort of trident out of branches while me and Lexi made simple spears. We split up (by split up I mean we moved about ten feet from each other) and looked for food. The first thing I got was two little tree frogs. After more walking, we all had no luck. We had been hunting for forty five minutes, at least, and all we had was two tree frogs, a woodpecker, and a pine marten. Then, our luck changed terribly. About one hundred yards away stood, parched in a tree, one of the most deadly animals you could encounter: jaguar. Without even thinking, I threw my spear with all force. It went through his paw, knocking him out of the tree. We stepped closer and Lexi threw her spear at it and it went through his left thigh. Finally, we were right next to it and Zove's trident was in its neck.

We carried our stock happily back to camp. Zove handed me the dead jaguar as he climbed up the tree to the net. He untied the top and I passed him the jaguar, and Lexi handed him the pine marten and woodpecker. The two frogs were too small to put in the net so we had frog and berry stew, we had gotten a whole lot of berries. Zove started a fire out of a few branches and Lexi found a piece of glass we could cook the frogs on. Zove found three small branches and carved them into bowls. After we cut up and cooked the frogs, we put them into the bowls along with ten berries each. It was a pretty good meal for refugees hiding in a forest. After eating, I was not sleepy at all so I took first shift.

The screen in the arena lit and I shook Zove and Lexi up to see. We moved closer to the edge of the forest so we could hear and see better. President Roz was shown sitting at her desk. "Hello, citizens of Panem! As you all have recently seen in the ninety-ninth Hunger Games, Zove Zibron, Alexis Clark, and Colton Clark have all escaped. We are prepared to give a huge reward for their capture: one hundred thousand dollars and an apartment in the Capitol. To the refugees, I hope to see you soon."

Dang, with that reward, I think my own grandma would find me and turn me in. Zove insisted I go to bed while he keeps watch, so I do. I didn't know how tired I was, but I was very tired. And I fell asleep.

I woke to the smell of something good. Apparently Zove had found some eggs and decided to cook them. He gave us each one egg, five berries, and a wing of the woodpecker. Zove had a leg. After eating we decided we needed to hunt again so we got our new weapons and went out. We got another strange bird, five tree frogs, more berries, and a small cat-like creature. "Zove," I started, "we need to find water. I'm dying."

"We do, but we can't stray too far so tonight you two will stay at camp while I search for water," Zove said.

"No, we will go together, now," I told him. He tried to argue but I ended up winning.

Weapons up, we walked through the forest. "Stop!" I yelled and the forest went so quiet it was loud. "I hear water!" And I did. We walked toward the noise and boy was I right! Running off of a small cliff was a stream of water landing in a small pond. We all ran at it, stripping and jumped in. it wasn't too deep, but it would be good enough for a bath. After we had all bathed, we needed to find a way to bring the water back to camp.

"Why don't I just stay here while you two go get the stuff and bring it back here," Lexi said. "It would be better than having to come back here everyday."

"She's right," Zove told me. So Zove and I walked back to camp.

Zove climbed up the tree and handed me the big net. It was heavy so we put everything in the net and carried it together. We were getting near the water so we yelled for Lexi. She replied with a "I'm over here!" and we found her. We found a branch and hung the net on it. The trees here dropped pine needles under them and also provided a hiding space so we slept under the tree. Lexi took her first shift in two days so she should be good on sleep. I didn't dream that night, or if I did I didn't remember it, so when I woke I had gotten good sleep.

Lexi got bored so she cooked breakfast before we woke. She mixed berries and water to make some creamy liquid that she poured on top of grilled bird. It was pretty good and washed down with fresh water. We all took another shower and decided to wash our clothes too. While waiting for the clothes to dry, we ate some berries. When they finally dried, we put them back on and went hunting again. All we got was a deer but it would last for a while. We still needed to eat the jaguar.

It was Zove's turn to keep watch but he was going to wake me up halfway through for me to watch. I agreed and went to bed. When he woke me up, its like I had slept for days so I was fully charged. I sat and stared at the sky until dawn. When they woke, we had some jaguar and climbed up the side of the cliff to the top of the waterfall to watch the appearance of President Roz on the big screen.


	3. The 4th Quarter Quell

_Hey everyone! I'm going to change the tense of the story from past tense to present tense. Hope it doesn't bother anyone. Thanks and enjoy!_

**Chapter Two:**

**The 4****th**** Quarter Quell**

As the morning air fills with the sound of President Roz's voice, we stare up at the big screen. "Good day, everyone! As you all know this is the coming of the one hundredth Hunger Games. A.K.A. the fourth Quarter Quell. For anyone who doesn't know, every twenty-five years marks the anniversary of the revolt against the Capitol. Therefore, the Games are changed. The first Quarter Quell, or the twenty-fifth Games, all citizens had to vote on the tributes for their districts to remind rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence. For the second Quarter Quell, or the fiftieth Games, there were twice as many tributes making a total of forty-eight to remind everyone that two people died for every Capitol citizen. For the third Quarter Quell, or the seventy-fifth Games, all previous victors were drawn to be tributes as a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol. Now," she pulls out an envelope marked with a large 100, opens it carefully, and reads: "As a reminder that your parents were letting you die just to bring violence to the world, all citizens over the age of 18 will be entered into the Reapings, as well as every citizen under the age of 18. Good day and good luck!"

We all stare at the screen, not moving our eyes. This was different, a Hunger Games with _everybody. _That means literally anyone, doesn't it? The Capitol will show no mercy for small children, or even infants! Let's just hope the Reaping will be ever in their favor…

I wonder what the arena will be like? This is so scary. Maybe I can just hunt off the questions. I pull my weapon from its hiding spot inside of a tree and walk into the heart of the forest. Maybe I will encounter another jaguar, a bear, even? I just need a challenge… As I walk, I hear footsteps behind me and realize it's just Zove and Lexi. Just then, we hear a low growl in the distance. I look up and see a jaguar about to pounce out of a high tree. But not at us, at a deer about one hundred yards away.

Maybe we will get lucky and get two for the price of none? The jaguar leaps out of the tree with such force it misses the deer and goes straight into the ground. The deer is startled and takes off in the other direction. The jaguar gets back up and chases it. The jaguar is gaining on the poor animal. Next thing I know, there's a wooden stake in the jaguar's side.

"Why did you do that?" Zove asks, somewhat angrily, yet surprised at my aim and distance.

"The deer didn't do anything," I tell him.

He seems confused and surprised and angry all at the same time. Lexi was happy that I saved a poor, innocent animal. We come back to camp and stash our weapons. Zove stabs a few fish before he puts his up. Lexi starts up a fire and grills the fish with frogs. Now that we have water she can make it into a stew, and she does. It was delicious, and I thought I'd never eat again. After finding out the sad news that I'm on first shift, I slump down on a low branch. I don't know why we even keep watch. I mean, who's going to find us? Nobody that I know of.

I'm thinking of betraying them, and sleeping when Zove taps my leg. I almost fall off the branch, thinking he was an animal or a Peacekeeper. He tells me to sleep, he will keep watch. I don't argue. I just drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When I wake, the sun is burning hot on my bare legs and arms. My immediate reaction is to get up and get into the pond when Zove stops me. "The water is poisoned," he tells me.

"What?" I ask. "How do you know?"

"I was keeping guard, you know. I saw a few ducks, and was debating whether or not to kill them. They go over to the water and start drinking it. A few seconds later, they're on the ground, dead," he tells me. Either he was giving me time to take in every word, or he was reliving the moment because he told everything very slowly.

"Then what are we going to drink?" I ask, furious with whoever did this.

"We can't drink anything," he tells me. "We'll have to leave."

"To where?" I ask, getting angrier by the second. "Who did this?"

"You see, we don't know that yet," he says motioning to Lexi. "Let's just walk, and see where it gets us."

It seems a better idea than any other that we have, which is none, so we go with it. Zove and Lexi each make another net and we even out the food in them. We each get one, in case we get separated. We leave the forest, and I wonder where we will end up. I never though being a part of the Hunger Games would do so much. We've set the whole country into chaos. Hopefully it will end soon. I don't want anyone to have to live like this except the ones who deserve it.

We walk. And walk. And walk. And walk.

Before we get there. After walking for more than three hours, we come to a house. It's about medium-sized and made of orange and red brick. A woman is in the back, working in her garden. She stands up and notices us. We keep walking over to her and she walks toward us as well. "Well, hello there," she greets us. "What are you doing out here?"

"Do you know who we are?" I ask.

"Well, of course!" she exclaims. "You're the kids who escaped the Hunger Games!"

"You're not going to turn us in?" Lexi asks.

"Well, no!" she yells. "If you guys need a place to stay, you feel free to stay here."

"Thank you," Zove says kindly.

She leads us into her house and shows us a bedroom with two small beds. There is a nightstand in between the beds and a dresser against the other wall. A small TV is attached to the wall in the far corner. There's also a small closet with nothing in it. "You kids can stay here. You go to bed at 9:00, you wake up at 7:30, you eat breakfast and take a quick bath in the pond out back. You work in the garden until 11:00. You have a drawing class until you eat lunch at noon. You work in the garden again until physical exercise. You do physical exercise at 4:00 and eat at 6:00. Then you do a bit of learning and get ready for bed. Right now it's," she looks at her watch. "3:00. Let's go to the garden."

"I think I'd like it better if she turned us it," Zove whispers to me.

We all go out to the garden and she assigns us different positions. I'm weeding, Lexi's planting, and Zove's digging. She gives us a break every thirty minutes. Why does her garden have to be so big? It reaches from her back porch for about one- or two-hundred yards. She gave us new clothes before we started which makes it better: tank tops and shorts. After thirty minutes of weeding we get our break which insists of sitting on her lawn furniture with a glass of lemonade for five minutes. We work for thirty more minutes until she calls us in for Physical Exercise.

For Physical Exercise, we do ten laps around her garden. Then we have to do arm conditioning, leg conditioning, abs conditioning, and then we work on tumbling. After an hour of that, she sets up the table for dinner. Finally, something to look forward to! She sets out a large plate with a ham on it, a pot of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and green beans from her garden. As soon as she sets the table, we all dig in.

When we all finish eating and washing the dishes, she sets up the table for "school." She drags a black board on wheels into the kitchen and grabs a piece of chalk from the drawer. She teaches us things like math and English. After our lesson, we get ready for bed. She gives us each a pair of pajamas, mine being blue sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Considering how big Zove is, he uses some spare blankets and sleeps on the floor. "Wait," I say to the woman as she starts to close the door. "What's your name?" All this time and I don't even know her name.

"You can call me Johanna," she says and closes the door.


	4. Tributes

Chapter 3:

Tributes

**I'm shaken awake by Johanna and the smell of eggs wafts into my nostrils. I mechanically follow the smell into the kitchen where I sit in my "assigned seat" and dig in. I wash it all down with a glass of water. We've been staying with Johanna for five months, and she's starting to loosen up a bit. She extended our bedtime to 9:30, we don't have to get up until 8:00, we don't have to work in the garden as much and we can use our free time to figure out a plan, and Physical Exercise was shortened down to forty-five minutes.**

**I'm the first one done, considering how fast I ate and I head out back to take a bath. I strip down and settle into the water warmed by the sun. I sit there for a minute before I remember what I'm doing. I grab the bar of soap and start to wash myself. I rinse off and stand out to dry. **

**I put my clothes on after I dry and go back inside where Lexi and Zove are just now finishing their breakfast. Johanna sends me out back to do a bit of weeding. Since she's loosened up, she assigns us small squares every day. It's usually 20x20ft. I got that done fairly quick and didn't know what to do. I was still waiting for Lexi and Zove to finish their daily chores so I pulled out a blank piece of parchment and a pen. **

"**Johanna," I start. "Where are we?"**

"**I think we're in the middle of Lein. But I'm not so sure," she says. "I was sent here about fifteen years ago. Do you know who I am?"**

"**Umm, no," I say honestly. "And I don't know what Lein is either."**

"**I'm Johanna Mason, and I was the victor of one of the previous Hunger Games. Two of them actually."**

"**What?" I say, confused. "How can you be a victor of two Hunger Games? And if you are, why do you live in Lein?"**

"**During the 75th**** Hunger Games, the 3****rd**** Quarter Quell, they pooled all previous victors. I was drawn. The plan was to keep Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen alive or something, and the whole thing went haywire. I lived, but the Capitol took me and tortured me. I was busted out, but was never the same. I went crazy and tried to kill a bunch of people from District 13 so they took me and sent me here. You're the third group of people I've encountered since then," she says. **

"**Umm," I start. "Wow, that's-wow." I didn't know what else to say. **

"**Yeah, so, if you need help with anything," she says, "I'm here."**

"**Cool," I tell her. "first things first, we need to get back to Panem."**

"**We-" she is interrupted by a broadcast on TV. It is here: The Reapings.**

**District One's tributes are a nineteen year old girl and an eleven year old boy. The girl, Rose Salem, is probably medium height with pale skin. Her red hair flows to her shoulders in fluffy curls. Her tight, green, knee length dress was shaking along with her body. I feel so bad, she's just at the age where she can't be in the Games… The boy, Luke Hazier, is short, pale, and scrawny. His light brown is long and wavy, his green eyes filling with tears. **

**District Two's tributes are a fifteen year old girl and a sixty-eight year old man. The girl, Kayty Jenson is short. Her dark brown hair reached her mid-back and is like her body: straight and rigid. Her blue eyes are shining in the sun of Two and it makes her silver dress sparkle as well. She almost trips as she walks to the stage but catches herself. The boy, or should I say man, or more appropriately senior citizen's name is Marc Loge. There's not much to say about him, he has no hair, his eyes were blue, but he was skinny. **

**District Three's tributes are a thirteen year old girl and a six year old boy. I almost cry when I see him. Dembra Zeros is the girl and she has black hair that is long and straight, it probably reaches near her butt, and has weird highlights in them. Or is it the sun? She seems proud as she walks up to the stage. I thought only Careers are proud of being in the Games? The six year old (why no volunteers?), Finley Saner, has short blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. His whole body looks about to go into a seizure on his way up to the stage. What sick people wouldn't volunteer for a poor, innocent little boy? **

**District Four's tributes are a seven year old girl and a fourteen year old boy. The little girl, oh no. Oh no! No, no, no, this can't be happening! It is none other than Sunni Sohma. She has brown hair and hazel eyes. She is short, and very skinny. But not sickly skinny. The boy, Hunter Tyler, is normal size for a fourteen year old. He has dark brown hair and eyes under black framed glasses. He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt.**

**District Five's tributes are a thirty-four year old woman and an eighty-eight year old man. Alisha Masada, the woman, is tall and black. Her dark brown hair is fluffy and reaches past her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes go near black when they call her name. Her tight blue mini-skirt looks hard to walk in. The man, Jegg Hughes, is old and wrinkly. He has a bit of white hair, and brown eyes. He doesn't seem frightened or anything when they call him up to the stage. That is different.**

**District Six's tributes are a seventeen year old girl and a thirteen year old boy. The girl, Dora Santiago, has long blond hair with pink streaks here and there. Her blue eyes go wide as watermelons when she's called. The boy, Kirmit Higgins, is short and scrawny. He sure doesn't look thirteen. More like ten. He has dark brown hair that was spiked at the end. He doesn't look as scared as the rest of the tributes, except for Jegg.**

**District Seven's tributes are a ninety year old woman and a fourteen year old boy. The woman, whose name is Meer Luve, has long gray hair. Like, seriously long. It is tied in a pony tail with a purple scrunchy. She doesn't match at all. She has a bright yellow long sleeved shirt on and long purple pants. Her shoes are white, all white. The boy, Jaden Conger, has brown skin, hair, and eyes. He looks really strong and has a long sleeved blue button up shirt on over khakis. He looks excited to go into the Games, considering all the people older than him…**

**District Eight's tributes are a ten year old girl and a twenty-one year old man. Margret Judea, the girl, has short brown hair reaching only to her neck. It is held back by a silver headband, matching her silver, skin tight dress. She looks very shaky on her trip to the stage. The boy, or man, Joey Gruden, volunteered for his son, Kris Gruden, who is only four. He (Joey) has blond wavy hair and bright blue eyes. He is tall, too. **

**District Nine's tributes are a fifteen year old girl and a fifty three year old man. Quinn Marin, the girl, is normal height and has blond hair with brownish highlights. Her blue eyes compliments her blue dress. It is tight at the top and fluffy at the bottom. She doesn't seem excited to be in the Games. The man, Jak Su, has tannish skin and short, black hair. His eyes were a dark brown and he doesn't show much expression as he walks to the stage.**

**District Ten's tributes are a twenty six year old woman and an eighteen year old man. The woman, Suzan Ruptar, is tall and pale. Her red hair reaches her shoulder blades in slight curls. Her brown eyes glimmer in the daylight as she volunteers for a nine year old girl named Uele. Cadis Sudden, the man, is tall with short brown hair. His blue eyes look excited to be a part of the Games. What is wrong with these Games? The people look excited!**

**District Eleven's tributes, I almost couldn't watch this, are Rachel Tugget, my best friend, and Sam Evans, my other best friend. Rachel is tall-ish and tan. Her brown eyes match her dark brown hair that reaches past her shoulders and is kept back with a light brown headband. She is fourteen. Sam is tall with wavy blond hair and blue eyes. He volunteers for his seven year old brother, Noah. Sam is sixteen.**

**District Twelve's tributes are two forty-one year olds. Katniss and Peeta Mellark. Katniss volunteers for her daughter, Lili who is fifteen. Peeta volunteers for a twelve year old named Ryne, to protect Katniss. Do I have to describe them? They are the most famous people in Panem!**

**The escorts all do their "….and may the odds be ever in your favor!" at the end of the Reapings and the president replaces Katniss and Peeta. "Congratulations, tributes. See you soon."**


	5. The Games Begin

**Chapter Four:**

**The Games Begin**

Johanna turns on the TV to view the beginning of the Hunger Games. We're not in Panem anymore, but I'm guessing it's still mandatory. All 24 tributes are on their spots. Now they wait 60 seconds. They are in a snowy meadow with the golden Cornucopia in the center. In the distance I can see the crumbling top of a building. The arena: tundra.

The gong sounds and the tributes run to the Cornucopia. Three of them run straight to the forest of Evergreens. One of them is Sunni, good. I'm watching her. As quick as the gong sounds, four tributes are dead. Dora Santiago already has a bow and arrow and she immediately shoots one into the head of Cadis Sudden. Somewhere behind the chaos, I spot Rachel getting a backpack and running into the forest. Okay, I'm watching her, too.

Jaden Conger, the boy from Seven, has a spear and sends it into the neck of Marc Loge. He falls to the ground, endless amounts of blood emptying his wrinkled body. Dora comes charging from behind a tree and steps on Marc's dead body, jumping off of him onto Jaden's back. She takes him to the ground and shoves an arrow between his eyes. The Games are a lot more gruesome on TV.

It shows a close up of his face as Dora leaves for the forest. But, before she does, she picks up a knife, and slashes it through Dembra Zeros's neck, leaving her dead and helpless, her blood spilling out over the glimmering snow. Well, we know who to look out for. If only we could help…

"Johanna!" I yell, coming to a conclusion. "Can't we sponsor people?"

"Umm, I think so?" she says confused.

"We have to find a way back to Panem, and you need to sponsor some people for us! We can't, we're being looked for. But you can! Please!" I beg.

"Fine," she says.

Johanna grabs her sweater (why? It's 90 degrees out…) and we leave. "How…?" I start but Johanna cuts me off.

"Just follow me."

After walking for a while, we come to a stop. We're in front of a tree. Johanna reaches her hand out to touch the tree. She makes some sort of beat on the bark and it opens. Awkward… We all step in and a tube lowers us. Eventually, we enter a well-lit room full of people.

It takes me a few minutes before I realize: this is where the Games are conducted. In the room, are Gamemakers, mentors, and sponsors. Tons of different screens fill up a whole wall, all showing different points of the Games. A few are in slow motion, and fast motion. Each person has a different camera, the Gamemakers just decide which ones to show at which times.

On one screen, I see Sunni running through the woods. She is alone, and defenseless. On another screen, Rachel and Sam are up in a tree, having a conversation. On another, the Careers are going over which weapons to actually take. Surprisingly, all the Careers were pretty young. Wait, Sunni. She's from Four, she should be a Career! Maybe they don't want her, or maybe she doesn't want them…

"Hello, Johanna," Berrie says to her. Does he notice us? "What are you doing here today?"

"I'm here to sponsor a few people."

"And who would that be?" he asks, eying us.

"District Eleven, and Sunni Sohma," she says, trying to remember the names we told her.

"Ahh, yes, he says, "good choices. They all have very good potential at winning the Games."

Johanna turns to us. "Don't worry," she whispers, "they don't care about you guys. They _want _to protect you. You're safe here."

I go to sit down in a chair in front of the screen wall. "Sunni needs a weapon," I say out loud. It is actually louder than it is meant to be.

"Like what, my dear boy?" Berrie asks me.

"A bow and arrow," Zove says immediately. "She's too weak for anything else."

Berrie types something into a screen. "A bow and arrow at this point in the Games, for someone Sunni's size is a fair amount."

"Like how much?" Zove asks.

"Forty-five dollars," he says.

Sadly, the only sponsors Sunni has are Johanna, Zove, Lexi, and me. We all fish out the amount and the Gamemakers lower her a bow and arrow in a parachute. She seems reluctant to go near it at first, but then she realizes it's a weapon. She looks up at the sky and mouths the words _thank you._

Rachel and Sam seem to be going good. They were both brave enough to go to the Cornucopia so Rachel has a backpack and Sam has a spear. They should be fine for a while. While I'm watching I start to catch on with the allies. The Careers: Rose, Luke, Kayty, and Hunter. Then there's obviously Rachel and Sam. Finley and Margret got together at some point, most of the adults are on their own, except Katniss and Peeta who are always together, Kirmit and Quinn allied together, then there's Luna.

The Games get boring and I fall asleep in my spinny chair. I wake up to see the same people as yesterday. "Did anybody die while I was asleep?" I ask Zove.

"No," he says. "But Sunni found a good hiding spot."

I nod and look back at the screens. Rachel is sleeping while Sam keeps watch, they are in the same tree. As I look around, I notice the old woman from Seven lying on the ground, twitching. Dora runs through the screen, and next thing I know, Meer is oozing red blood from her wrinkly neck.

That makes five kills in one day, and puts District Seven out of the running for victor… Katniss and Peeta are still alive, and I don't think they plan on murdering anyone, considering what they've bee through with the Games. Kirmit and Quinn have nothing but a small knife. The Careers are hunting through the tundra to try and find someone. Alisha, from Five, had teamed up with Jegg, and they found a body of water where they set up camp next to. Jegg seems close to death…

Someone brings me a plate with two slices of turkey, a bowl of wheat mix, and a glass of water. I don't realize how hungry I am until the whole platter is in my stomach. It's day two of the Games, and they continue on. I look again at Alisha's screen. They aren't in the Tundra. Where are they? "Zove, where are Alisha and Jegg?"

"They found a tunnel underground," he tells me. "Aboveground is a Tundra and underground is a hot and humid rainforest."

"Oh."

I wonder how these people's families feel? I wonder how Grandma feels? She hasn't seen me and Lexi since the day of the Reapings. I miss her so much. Just then I see an arrow in somebody's head on a screen, it isn't until they zoom in that I see the face of the victim: Jak Su. He's the 53 year old from District Nine. But who killed him?

I look around the other screens to see Sunni running through the tundra forest, bow and arrow in hands. "Oh," Zove starts.

"My," Lexi says.

"Gosh," I finish.

Sunni. Little Sunni Sohma, killing? Wow! Well, the Games bring out the worst in people. Dark falls (I only know because the sky in the arena goes dark) and I get sleepy. "Wake me if anything exciting happens," I tell Johanna and fall asleep.

When I wake up, it's the same exact thing. Déjà vu… One of the mentors bring me a bowl of grits with butter on top. I slowly eat them as I watch day three of the Games. I take it as nothing happened last night because nobody woke me. I turn to see Rachel and Sam in a different place. They are near a stream leading to the pond where Alisha and Jegg are. It looks like one of them killed something because they are eating meat. Is it fish? So they are underground, too.

Sunni is in her unknown hiding spot with her bow and arrow. She looks hungry. My words come out of Zove's mouth: "We should send Sunni some food and water."

Berrie types something on his screen again. "At this point in the Games, we can get her one reusable bottle of water, and a sack of dried fruits and vegetables for thirty dollars. Or we can get her one reusable bottle of water, water purifier, and a sack of berries and nuts for fifty seven dollars."

Zove, Lexi, Johanna, and I exchange glances. Since over the last two days we gained another sponsor, Maria Samson, we agree we can afford it. A minute later, a parachute floats down to Sunni. A cannon sounds somewhere in the Games, and I notice Jegg died of old age, or disease or something. Alisha doesn't seem all that sad. In fact, she seems happy to have the weight off her shoulders.

Nothing else happens during the Games for Day Three. The most exciting thing is Luke finds a dead bird to cook. So I fall asleep early, not having moved from my spinny chair in three days.


	6. Caught

_Hey everyone! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! It's been forever since I've written. Please forgive me, I just lost the will to write for some reason. Well, I finished this chapter and I'm anxious to start six! Be waiting, and please don't give up on me! __J__ Thanks!_

_- - _beast456

**Chapter Five:**

**Caught**

When I wake up, I'm in Johanna's arms. She's running down a tunnel with me. "What are we doing?" I ask.

"The Capitol found us. They took Lexi and Zove in a hovercraft. I managed to save you," she says through heavy breathing.

"Wait, what?" I yell. "They have Lexi and Zove!"

"Yes, now be quiet!" she whisper-yelled back. "They'll find us!"

She puts me down now that I'm conscious and we move a lot faster. Eventually, we enter a secured door. It has a big wheel handle and is locked by a big gold lock. Johanna pulls a key out of her pocket, sticks it in the keyhole of the lock, and turns it, unlocking the lock. She pulls the door open, with my help, and we go in, locking it from the inside.

I turn around to see it looks like a normal apartment room. A three person love seat against the far wall, a large TV attached to the wall over a burning fire place. There's a long coffee table in the center of the room. At the end of the room is a door leading to the kitchen and if you go through that, you come to the bedroom with two medium sized beds. Attached to that, is a small bathroom.

We clean up, and sit on the couch to watch the Games. Right now, it's showing Alisha. She's struggling in the rainforest. I'm guessing she isn't used to the heat like Rachel and Sam are. In the next few seconds, Dora's running through again. Alisha hides under the warm water, only her eyes and nose poking out.

Dora searches the area and sits on a large rock. She pulls a bag of dried fruit out of her backpack and starts chewing on them. Alisha swims farther away and climbs out. She steps quietly out of the stream and sneaks up behind Dora. Alisha stabs a sharp rock into Dora's neck and Dora falls to the ground, shaking.

Wow. Go Alisha! The cannon fired and Alisha runs. The camera changes to Sunni in her secret hideout. She is sitting in the corner, her package of food next to her, with her bow and arrow loaded and ready to shoot. It's pointed at the door. Nothing real interesting.

The camera switches to Quinn and Kirmit. They're still above ground, freezing. While the camera shows them being tortured, I think about stuff.

It is day four. Eight tributes are dead. Sixteen are left. Sunni is safe and protected. Rachel and Sam are doing well. Twelve people, that I know of, are above ground.

The camera switches to Katniss and Peeta. Katniss holds a loaded bow and arrow as they run through the tundra. They are trying to find the underground arena. As they run, Joey Gruden jumps out of a tree at them. They talk, and eventually, ally. Joey tells them he's seen a few people run by him so they follow the tracks. After about ten minutes, they find the tunnel and travel underground.

Going back to my list, make that nine people above ground. The camera goes to Finley and Margret. They are freezing over on the ground. Literally, they are freezing. Next thing I know, two cannons fire, signaling their official deaths. Well, at least they weren't murdered.

Ten tributes are now dead. But the good thing is Sunni, Rachel, and Sam are still alive. Okay. Now the camera is back on Career-Cam. They're sleeping in their camp, which is next to the Cornucopia. That tells how far they got. The camera switches to Suzan Ruptar, who it hasn't shown since the beginning. She is well stocked! She has two backpacks, a sword, three knives, and a spear. She has it all stored in a net she wove and hung from a tree. Original.

Night is falling and the camera keeps going back and forth between all the sleeping tributes. The anthem plays over the arena, and it shows the pictures of the dead tributes of Day Four: Dora Santiago, Finley Saner, and Margret Judea. I fall asleep on Johanna's shoulder, and I wake up on the floor.

Johanna brings me breakfast: eggs on bread. It is pretty good. I don't feel like watching the Games so I go take a shower. After I'm squeaky clean, I dry off and put on a new pair of clothes. Dark jeans, and a light blue t-shirt. I walk back out to see Johanna still watching the Games. "Can we ever leave?" I ask her.

"I don't know," she says, taking her attention away from the Games. "I don't think so. The only way is if they caught you. But then, they would catch me for holding you in secret care so, whatever. You're safe."

"Okay," I say. "Cool."

I sit on the couch next to Johanna, trying to look interested in the TV. "How did you win? You know, the Hunger Games."

She tucks her legs under her and turns to me. "I don't know how old I was, or what Games it was. But it was a long time ago. The arena was a huge forest area, And in the center was a small village. There was a huge mansion in the very center of the arena, with hidden supplies in it. They started us off in the corner, where the Cornucopia was. I grabbed a backpack and ran. I didn't have much, but I could survive. I remember one night, I was laying under my hiding place, crying, because I knew I couldn't win. My first kill was a guy from Eight. He charged at me with a spear and I threw my knife at him, it struck him straight in the throat. Realizing my skill, I set out to kill. I killed at least four more tributes, and it came down to me, and two Careers. One of them shot an arrow that I just barely dodged, while the other charged at me. I ducked the arrow and the right time because the other Career came from behind and jumped over me, the arrow penetrating his forehead. The other one was so stunned with what he had done, and wasn't paying attention as I threw my knife at his neck, bulls-eye." She gives me a small smirk.

I turn back to the TV, somewhat freaked out, somewhat amazed. The Careers are the stars of the Games again, all of them walking in a straight line in the tundra with Rose in the lead. They all have overly large backpacks, stuffed with goods from the Cornucopia. They are obviously off to find where everyone went (underground). A few of the younger ones like Luke and Hunter are complaining. "Shut up! Everyone! Do you want to win or not?" Rose yells at them, and immediately they shut up. Reor.

The camera zooms in and focuses on Luke, Hunter, and Kayty having a conversation. They get about 20 yards back from Rose so she can't over hear. "Guys, we need to kill her." Kayty doesn't even seem shaky as she says this.

"Yeah," Luke says, "I agree."

"We need a plan though," Hunter whispers.

"I already have one," Kayty says proudly. "Tonight, when we set up camp, I will volunteer to take first shift on look out. Of course, she will agree, she's so lazy. After about an hour or so, I will wake you two up. We will all get a weapon, and you know what happens from there…"

Luke and Hunter agree and they catch up with Rose. The camera switches to District 11-cam. There is still light outside in the rainforest. Sam and Rachel are both resting against a large boulder near the stream. They seem to be doing fine. Then, a few seconds later, Quinn and Kirmit come walking out of the rainforest. So they made it down there. Anyway, they are sneaking up on Rachel and Sam. Quinn has a small knife, Kirmit a long pointy rock he must've found. Quinn is going around to Rachel's side and Kirmit is approaching Sam. "NO!" I scream out but it's too late. The sharp object's have already entered them. Quinn digs her silver knife into the soft spot between Rachel's shoulder and collar bone. Her face winds up in pain, as does Sam's when the knife enters the center of his back. Afterwards, Quinn and Kirmit walk away, leaving Rachel writhing in pain and Sam dead.


End file.
